Henry: I'm not out for revenge

Thierry Henry has one thing on his mind tonight and it's not revenge. Arsenal's French striker spent a less than happy season at the Turin club before joining Highbury in August 1999 for £10.5million but told Standard Sport his only concern tonight is to get his club through to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

Henry, who returns at the Stadio Delle Alpi after serving the second game of his three-match domestic ban in Sunday's win at Aston Villa, said: "Juventus is already out of my mind, it is in the past. I'm only focused in my mind to go there and grab something for Arsenal.

"I go there to help my team to qualify for the next stage of the Champions League, not for revenge or anything like that. I didn't play a long time there and I don't know if the fans will clap me or whatever.

"I liked Turin, I got on well with my team-mates. I want to make that clear. But I was not happy with the way I was being asked to play. I was a wide player in midfield and I was asked all the time to run back and provide cover like a defender.

"It was run, run and run some more. I wanted to be up front. I only scored three goals in 17 matches. I would have liked to have got more.

"And winning and scoring is everything to the fans. A team can play not very well at all, but if they win, everything is fine. A player can run and run for the team, do a lot of work but if he doesn't score a goal, then he's no good in Italy.

"I like to win and I like to score. But what I know about English fans is if you give 100 per cent for the team, they will appreciate what you've done. I like that. That is one of the reasons I came to England."

The main reason, though, was to play again for manager Arsene Wenger, who had given him his initial chance with Monaco.

Henry has scored 28 goals this season for his club and country including one in the 3-1 victory over Juventus at Highbury in December, but admits he would rather Arsenal win the Premiership than be crowned kings of Europe.

The striker says Arsenal's European campaign is not distracting their attention from their bid to take the title from Manchester United.

He said: "Given the choice of winning just one trophy this season, it would be the league. If you're playing in the Champions League Final you may deserve to win it but you can lose it at the end - it's just one game of football.

"But out of 38 league games you can't say you were unlucky in this game, that game and another game.

"If you win the league you know you have been the best - and that's what I want.

"Playing in the Champions League takes a lot out of you but we have to deal with it. We have to balance it with the league to stay focused and as fit as we can. Maybe it's not nice to say, but if we weren't in the Champions League we would concentrate 100 per cent on the title.

"During the Champions League you still want to do as well as you can in the Premiership."

The French World Cup and European Championships winner believes Arsenal will be even stronger next season.

He added: "A few years ago we were struggling just to get into the second stage of the Champions League. Now we do reach the second stage and it will help us to build a stronger squad."

England defender Sol Campbell knows that beating Juventus will count for nothing if Bayer Leverkusen win in Spain against Deportivo La Coruna as it will be the Germans who will go through.

He said: "It is more than a little bit frustrating after all the great performances we've had in Europe.

"All we can do is go for the win and hope the other result goes for us. We will do our bit and hope that Deportivo do the same."

Even if Arsenal do go out tonight, they will still have a lot to play for this season with an FA Cup sixthround replay at home to Newcastle on Saturday followed by the run-in for the Premiership title.

Campbell added: "There is pressure on me and the rest of the team and I am thriving on that pressure.

"It sounds easy to say, but all you can do is try to keep the run going. Just keep battling and trying to win like we did at Aston Villa. That has kept us in the hunt. Every game is important but that is how I want it to be."

One man Campbell will not be up against tonight is Henry's fellow French striker David Trezeguet, who is among several players being rested by Juventus coach Marcello Lippi because his side have no chance of qualifying.

Others left out of the starting lineup are Gianluigi Buffon, Alessandro del Piero, Lilian Thuram, Marcelo Salas and Pavel Nedved.

Arsenal were linked with Trezeguet recently, although Wenger dismissed a £50million move for the 24-year-old as "pure fantasy".

The player, who has scored 12 goals in 28 games for France, is flattered by the reported interest of Liverpool and Arsenal.

"It is a great honour to know that such great teams could want me," he said. "At the moment I'm happy at Juventus and I feel that though the English Premiership is a great championship with great players, there is a big difference between England and Italy.

"In Italy there's a bigger challenge because it is more difficult for the strikers."

A few Arsenal players might disagree and tonight's game should go a long way to showing that Henry made the right move all along.